Jail-door-operating mechanism



Feb. 15

B. J. HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 22, 1925 4Sheets-Sheet 1 1927' B.- J..HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISMFiled Oct. 22 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb- B. J. HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOROPERATING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 22, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet? eb B. J.HOPPENJANS JAIL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb.15 1927.

'UNITED STATES PATENTQOFF-ICE.

BERNARD JOHN HOPPENJANS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSQURI, ASSIGNOR TOJAULY JAILBUILDING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSQURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

JAIL-DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed October 22, 1925.

My invention has relation to improvements in jail door operatingmechanism and consists in the novel features of construction more fullyset forth in thespeciiication and pointed out in the claims.

Briefly, the invent-ion consists in operating the doorsof the respectivejail cells from a common operating lever arranged within a. box orcasing wherein there is also an index lever for indexing the mechanismto operate any door or set of doors desired. In addition to theoperation of the cell doors a door leading from the cells to an assemblyroom and disposed at right angles to the cell doors may also be operatedfrom the mechanism within the index box, suit-- able mechanism beingprovided between the cell door operating bar and the right angled doorfor translating the motion of the cell door operating bar to make iteffective on the right angled door.

It isthus the object of the invention to provide .jail door locking andoperating mechanism which is .as absolute proof against jail delivery oras nearly so as human ingenuity can make it. It is a further object ofthe. invent-lento so construct and.

c rrange the door operating mechanism that all of the doorscan beoperated from a common center, in the present instance from the index.box, a centralization of the door operating levers making forefficiency and simplicity. Among other objects of the invention are thefollowing :The provision of a toggle arrangement between the door andoperating bar for multiplying the travel of the door above that of theoperating bar so that the door may be fully opened with a comparativelyslight movement of the operating bar; the provision of suitable cams on.the index bar whereby the doors are indexed and any one or all of themmay be opened with a given movement of the operating lever; theprovision of a. suitable mechanism for unlocking the door automaticallywith a movement of the index lever to a position in which such door Willbe acted upon by the operating lever. Further and other advantages willbe better apparent from a detailed description of the invention inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan ofa jail building showing the arrangement of the cells and other rooms andtheir doors; Figure 2 is Serial No. 64,079.

a vertical, longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showingthe jail partition and cell doors in. elevation; Figure 3 is a frontelevation of the jail cell door operating mechanism with the index barshown dotted in position for operating each door separately; Figure 4 isa side elevation of the jail door operating mechanism (one door onlybeing shown) with the door operating lever moved to the posit-ion inwhich the door is opened; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing theindex bar and the cams thereon for the cell doors together with the dropbars for latching the doors, five relative positions of cams and dropbars being shown. In this view the drop bars are shown in differentlateral positions While as a. matter of fact, it is the index bar andcams that move, the drop barsbeing shown moved in lieu of the index barfor the sake of clarity Figure dis a vertical, longitudinal sectiontaken through the index or lever box, the door operating lever thereinbeing shown in side elevation; Figure 7 is a top planet the jail celldoor operating mecha-- nism (the index box and levers therein beingbroken away) and the mechanism for operating the rightangled door;Figure 8 is a vertical, sectional detail of the line 88 of F 3; Figure 9is a fragmentary View of the index bar showing secured thereto the camplate for indexing the right angled door operating mechanism; Figure 10is a side elevation (parts being in section) of the mechanism foroperating the rightangled door, said door being shown open; Figure'll isa view similar to Fig. 10, the door, however, being shown in closedposition; Figure 12 is a perspective view showingthe lock bar fortheright angled door and the jump bar for coupling said door to the mainoperating lever.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the case or box for housing thelocking mechanism which is provided with a door 2' adapted to be lockedby means of a combination lock 3. The box is mounted in the guardscorridor C in line with partition P in which are the cell doors D, D andthe door D leading to the safety vestibule V. The safety vestibule isalso provided with a door cl leading to an assembly or dining room A,the door cl, it will be observed, being disposed at right angles to thecell doors D, D and D". Between the guards corribox 1 and being adaptedto close against a Iii) bar 4 in closely fitting relation with the side5 of said box. Within the index or lever box are a plurality of lockingbolts 6, 6, 6 operable by suitable mechanism within the box for lockingthe corridor d as fully described and claimed in the com panionapplication filed herewith by Peter J. Pauly.

The abide wing and cell door operating mechanism.

It is apparent that the jail doors D, D and D are not always openedtogether, it being more often the case that only one of the said doorswill be opened at a lime. Therefore, suitable mechanism must be providedfor determining which door is to be opened, this mechanism in thepresent case being called the index mechanism and which will now bedescribed in d tail.

Arranged within tl e index box 1 is an index lever 35, said lever beingpivotally mounted in a bracket 36 secured against the rear wall of theindex box, said bracket having integrally formed with it notched sector37 on the outer edge oi which is formed a plurality of notches 10, 11,12, 18 and 1th, lever carrying a pawl 38 operable through guides and 40on the lever 35 there being a spring all between guide e 0 and said pawlfor forcing the pawl outwardly. The pawl is connected to the usualhandle ll which may be pressed inwardly against the handle 42 of thelever 35 for the purpose of releasing the pawl 38 "from any notch inwhich it may be positioned. The short arm l?) of the lever 35 isbifurcated and has connected to it through a connecting link 4-4, oneend of an index or cam bar so. The index bar 45 is slidingly mounted inbrackets 1-6, l6 immediately above a structural member 18 extendingalong the partition P above the jail doors D, D and D. Jail door D,etc., is adapted to close against a hollow jainb 49, said jamb having aslot on its inner face to receive a keeper 51 having a notch 52 formedon its upper edge, and operable within the jamb and against the innerwalls to thereof is a drop bar of said drop bar carrying an enlargedportion 54 which traverses a guide bracket 55, said enlarged portionbeing provided with a recess 55 for the reception of a cam 56 secured tothe index bar 4:5 in a position so that for a movement of the index barthroughout its full extent, said cam will be operable through the notch52 in the drop bar. It will be observed that the ram 56 for indexingdoor D is oi? ditl'erent shape than cam 56 for operating door D, theshape of these cams being such that when the index lever 35 is in itsuppermost position (shown 53; the upper end dotted in Fig. 3), the highpoint of cam 56 will have been moved to a position to raise drop bar 53to release the drop bar from the keeper of the door D. At this time thecam is in a position to have per mitted the drop bar to drop down intoengagement with the keeper of the door D. Thus the door is locked andthe door D has been unlocked by the action of the cams 56 and 56respectively. The movement of the index bar is thus first etlective onthe cams so as to unlock the door or doors that are to be opened (seeFig. 5). The doors are now in a position to be opened by a movement ofthe operating lever 58. The operating lever 58 is pivotally mounted on abracket 59 secured to the rear wall of the index box 1 and extendsdownwardly between the SPElCGtl members (50, 60 forming a sector havingnotches 15, 16 on its outer edges for the reception of a pawl 61 securedat the end of a rod 62 mounted in a bearing 63 on the lever 58, thelower end of the rod 62 being connected to the short arm 64 of a leverhandle 65 pivoted at the base of the main handle 66 of the ope 'atinglever 58. The pawl 61 is confined within a bearing block 6? on the lever58 and is urged outwardly by a spring 68 coiled over the rod 62 betweenthe pawl 61 and bearing 63. The notches l5 and 16 are spaced to hold thelever 58 in its two extreme positions when the pawl 61 is lodged in saidnotches. Connected to the upper bifurcated extremity 69 of the lever 58by a connecting link 70 is a main operating bar 17, said operating barbeing slidably mounted in openings 72 in the brackets 16. It wil beobserved that the lower edge of said main bar 17 is provided with aplurality of notches 17, 17, 17 in spaced relation above each door, andpivotally mounted in the bracket 73 secured to partition plate 7e;Disposed above the cell grating is an extension ever or toggle de vice75 the lower end 01 said extension lever being pivotally connected to alug 76 projecling upwardly from the door at about its intermediatepoint. A jump bar 77 is pivoted at one end to the n'iiddle of extensionlever 75 and extends through the slot 78 in the upper enlargement 54 01drop l ar 53. lhere is a lug T5) projecting .lrom the jump bar 77beneath and in line with the middle notch 72 in the main bar T1 whensaid main bar is in position assunied v it when the operating lever 58is in operation or in position shown in Fig. 4:. Each door is providedwith suitable rollers 80 mounted in bracl-tets 81 extending upwardly amthe upper edge of the door, said brackets traversing an opening 82 insaid plate l8, and said rollers are adapted to ride on a rail 83disposed adjacent to the margin of said opening 82. It will be observedthat when the index lever 35 is moved to a position to unlatch any doorby virtue of the cam for said door having raised the drop bar thereof,the drop bar will lift the jump bar and cause the lug 79 thereof toenter the intermediate notch 17 as shown in the dotted position Fig. 3.Now if the operating lever is raised so as to move the main bar in thedirection of the arrow (Fig. 3), said main bar will carry with it in itsmovement the jump bar and since the latter is connected to the extensionlever which is also connected to the door, said extension lever will beswung to a position opposite to that just occupied by it, dragging withit in its movement, the cell door. It is thus apparent that by operatingthe index lever 35, not only is the door that it is desired to openunlocked, but said door is also connected to the main bar at the sametime so that by now moving the main bar, the door will be moved to anopen position by the movement thereof. 1

By referring to Fig. 5, it will be seen that if the index lever 35 andthe index bar 15 are moved to a position to cause the cams 56, 56 and 56of all the doors to raise the respective drop bars 53, 53 and 53 andjump bars 77, 77, etc., then all the doors may be opened simultaneouslyby means of the operating lever 58. Thus the position and shape of thecams 56, 56 and 56 determines whether the doors may he individual-- lyopened, or collectively. or both; and the arrangement with respect tothe opening of the doors may be changed by merely chang ing the shape orposition of these cams.

T he right angle door.

The jail is provided with a safety vestibule V as heretofore explained,the purpose of which is to temporarily confine the prisoners on theirway from a cell c to the as-.

sembly or dining room A. In admitting the prisoners to the dining room,the door D or D is opened by the operator at the index box (or they mayboth be opened) as is also the door D, allowing the prisoners in theprisoners corridor C to enter the vestibule V. The doors D, D and D arethen closed, the prisoners being temporarily confined in the vestibule Vafter which the door (Z leading to the room A is opened to admit theprisoners into said room. It will be observed (Fig. 1) that the door (Zis disposed at right angles to the doors, D, D, D, consequently, themechanism for operating this door now about to be described, must bedisposed at right angles to the mechanism which operates the cell doors.

The door (Z is suspended by rollers 85. adapted to travel on a track 86'secured to a partition plate 87 above partition 88 and an extension ortoggle lever 89 is pivotally connected to a lug 90 projecting from thecenter of the top horizontal door bar 91, the upper end of extensionlever 89 being pivotally connected to a bracket 92 secured to plate 87(as shown in Figures 10 and 11).

The door (Z is provided with a keeper'93' adapted to enter a slot 94 inthe inner face of the hollow door jamb 95, saidkeeper being engaged bythe upper edge of an'opening 96 in a looking or drop bar 97, said bar9'!" having an angle plate 98 secured'to its up per extremity. A tr plever 99 is pivotally mounted on a pm 100 at about its center,

said lever 99 carrying a roller'101 o'n'i'ts notch lt) the plate 103carried bythe' index 1 bar 15 will be moved so that the roller 101" willbe forced into thelower part 102 of,

slot 102; therefore, rocking the lever 99 and raising the drop bar 97 soas to release it from the door keeper 93 thus unlocking the doord. Therocking of the lever will also raise the angle bracket 98 which in turnwill lift the free end of a special jump bar 104 which traverses a slot105 in said angle bracket. It will be observed that the jump bar 104t isprovided with a lug 106 extending laterally from its upper edgesaid lugbeing adapted to enter a notch 10!" in the bottom edge of a notch bar108, said notch bar being pivotally connected to the free end of anextension lever 109 which lever is pivotally connected to a bracket 110secured to plate 87 (as shown in Figures 10 and 11). Thus when the door(Z is to be opened, the index lever 35 is moved'to its proper positionwhereupon the door (Z is unlocked and at the same time the jump bar 104,is coupled to the notch bar 108 and extension lever 109.

The door is then indexed and if now the operating lever is raised. thedoor will be opened by means of the right angle door operating mechanismwhich consists in a main bar 111 and a right angle lever pivotallymounted on a bracket 112 at the junction of the short lever arm 113 andlong lever arm 114. said bracket 112 being Secured t the plate 87. Thelong lever arm 11 1 has a pivotal connection through pin 115 and slot116 with the notch bar 17, and the short lever arm 113 has a pivotalconnection through pin 117 and slot 118 with special main bar 111. Thusthe special main bar 111 is connected to the notch bar 17 and on movingthe latter, the right angle lever will be rocked about its fulcrum andthe movement of the notch bar translated to the special main bar 111. Amovement of bar 111 is effective on extension lever 109 which transmitsits motion to notch bar 108, the notch bar carrying with it in itsmovement the jump bar 104;. As the notch bar 104 is llii moved to aposition either to open or close the door (Z, it will oscillate theextension lever 89, the latter swinging from one side to the other andcarrying with it in its movement the door (Z. hen the door cl is opened(as shown in Fig. 10) the extension lever 109 will be contracted withinits narrowest limits and as the special main bar 111 moves to the left,the notch bar 108 will travel twice the distance that the bar 111travels (by virtue of the extension of the lever 109) at the same timethe movement of the notch bar 108, and, of course, that of the jump bar104-. is again multiplied by the extension lever 89 so that for a givenmovement of the bar 1.11, the door cl will move 4; times the distance.arrangement of lever is that the bell-cranl lever 113, 114, fortranslating the movement of the notch bar 71 to the special main bar 111may be made comparatively small and not occupying a great amount ofspace. In order to have the moving parts operate easily they areprovided with suitable roller bearings shown in the drawings but notspecifically described since the use of antitriction bearings is an oldexpedient and is not herein claimed.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

The advantage of this mechanism therefor, said operating mechanismcomprising an operating lever, a travel bar connected thereto and meansbetween the travel bar and the door for imparting the movement of thetravel bar to the door, said means being extensible for multiplying thedoor movement so that for a given movement of the travel bar, the doorwill be moved correspondingly greater amount, and means for coupling thetravel bar to the door.

3. In a door operating mechanism, the combination of an operating lever,a travel bar connected thereto, a special travel bar disposed at rightangles to the said travel. bar, means for translating the motion of thetravel bar to the special travel bar, and means for coupling the door tothe special travel bar.

it. In a door operating mechanism comprisin a travel bar and anoperating lever therefor, a special travel bar disposed at right anglesto the travel bar, means for translating the motion of the travel her tothe special travel bar, means for locking the door in closed position,and means for unlocking said door and simultaneously therewith couplingthe door to the special travel bar.

In a door operating mechanism coinpris a travel bar and an operatinglever therefor, a special travel bar disposed at right angles to thetravel bar, means for translating the motion of the travel bar to thespecial travel bar, means for coupling the special travel bar to thedoor, and an indexing lever adapted to actuate the coupling means.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature.

BERNARD JOHN HOPPENJANS.

